1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cassette autochangers and to cassette autochanger systems. Cassette autochangers are used, for example, in television broadcasting stations for storing programs such as commercial messages and advertisements, and television programs, and for selecting in a required order a sequence of the stored programs for reproduction and transmission.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows an automatic cassette supplying and reproducing apparatus or cassette autochanger as disclosed in Sony Corporation UK patent specification GB-A-2 190 233. The cassette autochanger comprises an upright, rectangular housing 1 including a video tape recorder (VTR) console 2 having a plurality of reproducing/recording devices 3, such as VTRs 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D capable of reproduction and recording of magnetic video tape cassettes (C), stacked vertically one above the other at one side of the housing 1. A cassette delivery mechanism 4 is provided to deliver to the VTR console 2, the video tape cassettes C selected from a large number of cassette storage locations 5A, 5B, 5C, 5Z and 6A, 6B, 6C formed by bins arrayed in orthogonally related directions, that is in vertical stacks arranged horizontally in succession, in front and rear banks 7 and 8. Each of the cassette storage bins in the banks 7 and 8 can store a single cassette C therein. Further, as is apparent from FIG. 1, the stacks of cassette storage bins in the front and rear banks 7 and 8 are spaced apart to provide an aisle therebetween which accommodates a cassette transporting mechanism 9. The VTRs 3 are of a side-loading type, so each is capable of receiving a cassette C at the side of the respective VTR 3 facing the cassette delivery mechanism 4, from the cassette transporting mechanism 9.
The cassette transporting mechanism 9 comprises fixed upper and lower guide rails 10A and 10B extending horizontally along the aisle, and a movable guide rail 10C extending vertically in the aisle between the front and rear banks 7 and 8, and mounted at its upper and lower ends on the rails 10A and 10B, for movements horizontally in the directions indicated by arrows X--X in FIG. 1. A cassette feeder or carriage 11 is mounted on the guide rail 10C for movements vertically as indicated by arrows Y--Y in FIG. 1 . The cassette carriage 11 has openings 11A and 11B for receiving respective cassettes C. Both the guide rail 10C and the carriage 11 are moved in their respective directions by a drive mechanism (not illustrated). The housing 1 also includes a cassette in-port 12 and a cassette out-port 13.
In operation of this cassette autochanger, a selected cassette C, for example a cassette C1, is removed by the cassette carriage 11 from its respective cassette storage location 6C, whereupon the cassette carriage 11 is moved vertically as needed in the direction of the arrows Y--Y relative to the vertical guide rail 10C which, in turn, is moved horizontally in the direction of the arrows X--X so as to register with the side-loading port or opening of a selected one of the VTRs 3, and the transported cassette C1 is then transferred from the cassette carriage 11 through the cassette delivery mechanism 4 into the selected VTR 3 for reproducing or recording a signal on the tape in the selected cassette C1 . After the desired recording or reproducing operation has been performed, the used cassette C1 is returned through the cassette delivery mechanism 4 to the cassette carriage 11 on the vertical guide rail 10C which is then moved horizontally in the direction of the arrows X--X, whereupon the cassette carriage 11 is moved vertically in the direction of the arrows Y--Y for registering the cassette carriage 11 with the cassette storage bin into which the used cassette C1 is to be returned. This may or may not be the cassette storage bin 5C from which the cassette C1 was originally selected. Then, the returned cassette C1 is transferred from the cassette carriage 11 to the cassette storage bin with which it is registered.
When such a known cassette autochanger is used in a broadcasting station to select and transmit programs comprising commercial messages or advertisements and television programs, there is provided a system controller which maintains a reproduction list to which additions can be made and from which deletions can be made by operation of a keyboard. The reproduction list is primarily a listing of the programs to be reproduced by the cassette autochanger and the order of reproduction.
Suppose then that a segment of the reproduction list consists of a sequence of programs (identified CM) as follows:
CM001 PA1 CM002 PA1 CM003 PA1 CM004 PA1 CM002 PA1 a plurality of reproducing/recording means; PA1 a cassette housing means having a plurality of cassette storage locations; PA1 cassette transporting means for selectively transporting said cassettes between said cassette storage locations and said reproducing/recording means; and PA1 control means for controlling the operation of said reproducing/recording means and said cassette transporting means, said control means comprising: PA1 first detecting means for detecting any one of said programs that is recorded on the recording medium in one only of said cassettes; second detecting means for detecting two of said reproducing/recording means which are available for use; and PA1 dubbing control means for controlling said two reproducing/recording means detected by said second detecting means so that said one of said programs detected by said first detecting means is automatically dubbed into another said cassette using said two reproducing/recording means. PA1 a first cassette autochanger for automatically supplying and selectively reproducing a plurality of cassettes having programs recorded on recording media thereof, the first cassette autochanger comprising: PA1 a plurality of first reproducing means; PA1 a first cassette housing means having a plurality of first cassette storage locations; PA1 first cassette transporting means for selectively transporting said cassettes between said first cassette storage locations and said first reproducing means; and PA1 first control means for controlling the operation of said first reproducing means and said first cassette transporting means according to a reproduction list which shows the order of reproduction of said programs, said first control means updating the reproduction list as reproduced by said first reproducing means and being capable of transmitting said updated reproduction list to a location external to said first cassette autochanger; and PA1 a second cassette autochanger for automatically supplying and selectively reproducing a plurality of cassettes having programs recorded on recording media thereof, the second cassette autochanger comprising: PA1 a plurality of second reproducing means; PA1 a second cassette housing means having a plurality of second cassette storage locations; PA1 second cassette transporting means for selectively transporting said cassettes between said second cassette storage locations and said second reproducing means; and PA1 second control means, operative when said first cassette autochanger is out of order, for controlling the operation of said second reproducing means and said second cassette transporting means according to said updated reproduction list which has been transmitted from said first control means, said second control means updating said reproduction list as each of said programs is reproduced by said second reproducing means; and PA1 selecting means for selecting the output of said first or said second reproducing means, the output of said first reproducing means usually being selected, and when said first autochanger is out of order the output of said second reproducing means being selected.
Until now there have been two ways in which programs have generally been recorded in the cassettes in such a cassette autochanger. In the one cassette for one program recording system, each program is recorded in a respective single cassette. For such a system the above reproduction list presents no problems because the respective cassettes for the first four programs CM001, CM002, CM003 and CM004 can be selected in sequence and brought to the VTRs for reproduction in the required sequence. At least by the time reproduction of one program approaches its end, the cassette with the next program to be reproduced is in a stand-by condition in another VTR 3.
The cassette for the program CM002 is then reselected. This may involve retrieval from a cassette storage bin if the cassette has been returned after the first reproduction, or alternatively, if the time durations of the intervening programs are short, the cassette may have been left in a VTR 3 after the first reproduction ready for the second.
However, this system does have the serious problems that it is very wasteful of recording capacity in the cassettes, and that the number of programs available for automatic reproduction is restricted to the number of cassette storage bins in the cassette autochanger.
As an alternative, therefore, the multisegment recording system is used. In this system, a plurality of programs are recorded in each cassette, so reducing waste of recording capacity and substantially increasing the number of programs that can be made available. However, with this system also, there are serious problems. Thus, in an individual cassette, programs are recorded successively on the magnetic tape with intervals between adjacent programs. Suppose then that in the above example the programs CM001, CM002 and CM003 happen to be recorded in the same cassette. Even if the programs happen to be recorded on the tape in the order CM001, CM002, CM003 their successive reproduction without gaps between programs will be impossible.
One object of the present invention is to provide a cassette autochanger in which the above-mentioned problems of the two known recording systems are overcome.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for automatic re-recording of programs such that every program is recorded in two different cassettes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cassette autochanger which permits successive reproduction of any selected sequence of recorded programs.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cassette autochanger system comprising a main cassette autochanger and a back-up cassette autochanger, and in which reproduction is automatically passed, when necessary, to the back-up cassette autochanger.
According to the present invention there is provided a cassette autochanger for automatically supplying and selectively reproducing a plurality of cassettes having programs recorded on recording media thereof, the cassette autochanger comprising:
Every program found to be recorded in one cassette only is thus automatically dubbed (that is, duplicated) into a second, different cassette, so that reproduction of the programs in any required order is possible.
According to the present invention there is also provided a cassette autochanger system comprising:
This provides for automatic updating of the reproduction list in the second cassette autochanger such that the second autochanger can take over reproduction immediately if for any reason the first cassette autochanger becomes out of order.
The above, and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.